Wie led 2-up heading to the 16th hole at The Kahkwa Club, but was eliminated in the early round of the championship for the second straight year. The 14-year-old from Hawai'i lost in the first round in 2003.

"I knew she was going to come back. ... I left myself in a really hard position," Wie said.

All square going to the par-4 18th, Wie hit her second shot within 15 feet. Park's second shot landed about 60 feet from the hole.

Park, of Henderson, Nev., hit her putt close, and Wie conceded the putt. Wie knocked her birdie putt several feet past the hole and the match ended when her second putt hit the edge of the cup and rolled away.

"It was one of those things," Wie said. "It passes right by and you don't know what happened."

Wie, who tied for 13th at the U.S. Women's Open in July, has been widely watched as an amateur. Hundreds of fans followed her today, and USGA officials said the tournament had drawn the largest crowds they had ever seen for this event. After her match, a disappointed Wie signed autographs for several children waiting near the 18th green.

Wie struggled throughout the competition, shooting a 3-over 75 in the first round of stroke play qualifying. But the 2003 Women's Amateur Public Links champion relied on her short game to beat Angela Park in the first round of match play Wednesday.

In the second round, Wie and In-Bee Park matched each other shot for shot for most of the front nine. But soon after making the turn, Wie went 1-up after Park hit her tee shot into the bunker on the 164-yard, par-3 11th and made a bogey.

Wie went 2-up at the par-4 13th when she made birdie and Park made another bogey.

But Park birdied the doglegged 16th, trimming Wie's lead.

Known for powering her drives over 300 yards, Wie hit a driver on the 379-yard, par-4 17th, but missed the fairway and failed to get up and down. Her bogey left the match all square.

"I think I got a little too aggressive," Wie said.

As Wie's parents walked with the gallery at No. 18, her mother motioned in prayer. Minutes later, Wie missed her putts, leaving the crowd silent.

"I thought I hit it good. I didn't think I hit it that long," Wie said of her first putt. "If I left myself some easy putts, it would have been a different story."

In the afternoon matches, Paula Creamer of Pleasanton, Calif., beat Brittany Lincicome, of Seminole, Fla., 2 and 1 to advance. The 18-year-old Creamer, who tied for 13th at the Women's Open last month, lost in the semifinals of this event last year.

"I'm hitting the ball well, I'm putting a lot better, I have a lot more confidence in that," said Creamer, who will face Diana Ramage of Fayetteville, Ga. in a quarterfinal match today.

Others who advanced to Friday's quarterfinals were Sun-Young Yoo of South Korea, Amanda Curdy of El Dorado, Ark., Sarah Huarte, of Shingle Springs, Calif., Morgan Pressel of Boca Raton, Fla., Beth Allen of San Diego, Calif., and Jane Park of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.